Paint Thickness Makes a Difference

Today I just want to quickly go through something with you guys on paint viscosity, the proper temperatures to store it at, and also how temperature affects the paint. We send it out of our shop in Georgia ready to spray. Unfortunately, the warmer the paint gets, the thinner it gets. We actually can this for the thinnest possible case scenario, but in the winter time, and I know it’s starting to get winter where some of you guys are right now, the paint will start to thicken up slightly. This is just due to the structure of the paint. It just gradually tends to pull in on itself.

Mixing Paint For a Spray Gun

I want to show you guys what you need to look for when you’re opening your can of paint, and getting ready to spray. Also, bear in mind, throughout the course of a couple of months, while you guys are opening these cans up, and you’re painting, and then pouring it back in, the reducers actually evaporate off into the air, which actually thickens the paint up naturally anyway. It’s always a good idea to have some lacquer thinner, or urethane reducer on hand, so that you can just add a bit to the can, just to get it to the right spraying consistency.

What I’ve got here, this is a thick version of the red that we use. You can see when it comes off, it’s about the consistency of a cream. It’s kind of thick. It coats very, very heavy on the mix stick. This is one, which is the proper consistency. We like to say it needs to be somewhere around the consistency of skimmed milk. You can see how it runs off much, much finer. If I hold them together, you can see, the one on your right, the thin one, is actually dripping, where the one on the right, your left, is actually a much thicker drip, and in fact, a stream when I first bring it out. You can see the difference. You can see how it coats. You can see the thin one is already starting to dry on the stick. This thicker one is just still very, very glossy.
This will, of course, help when you’re painting. With it at the right consistency, the skimmed milk consistency, you will find that the solvents will evaporate much faster off the part, and the part will dry in basically 5 to 10 minutes in between coats. As it goes on really thick, if it’s cold, or if the can has been opened and closed a lot, that’s going to slow down your drying time. It’s going to also make you spray too much paint on, because it’s landing in a much heavier density.

That’s All There is To Mixing Paint For a Spray Gun

That’s it. Just something to remember, as we’re coming up to the winter now. Just make sure that when you pour it out, you get familiar with what it looks like coming out of the can, and into the gun. Once it’s in the gun, if you still think it’s a bit too thick, just add a splash of reducer at a time, until it gets down to the skimmed milk consistency. You’ll find that your painting is going to be a lot more successful. That’s it. Jason at ohwpaint.com, and we will see you next time.

We’ve sanded the floor using three different grits of paper: a 36, a 60 and an 80.

Speaker 2: And I vacuum between each one.

Tom: Right. Now, one more step before I start our finish. I’ve made up a tack rag using mineral spirits. I want to wipe down the surface of the floor. It’s always a good idea to work towards the door so you’re not pinning yourself into a corner. Leaving with all of that vacuuming.

Speaker 2: Excellent vacuuming.

Tom: All right. Excellent vacuuming. Look at how much stuff we’ve picked up.

Speaker 2: Oh, wow. Yeah.

Tom:

All right. This will just take a few minutes to dry then we’re ready for the next step.

Now we’re ready to put our finish on the floor. What we’re going to use is a water-based polyurethane. The benefit to a water-based polyurethane over an oil-based polyurethane is this dries much quicker. It also allows us to put multiple coats on the floor on the same day and it doesn’t have that smell that you get from oil-based polyurethane. But before we put our polyurethane on the floor, we have to put a base coat on the floor first.

Speaker 2: Why do you got to put the base coat on the floor first, Tom?

Tom: Well, sometimes there’s tannins in the floor that you get a reaction with the water-based polyurethane.

Speaker 2: What’s that reaction like?

Tom: Well, you get discoloration. With this base coat, it stop that from happening.

Now, what I want to do is I just dump a little bit on the floor.

With my brush, I work it in around the edge. Try not to move too fast to create bubbles.

Speaker 2: What happen if there are bubbles, Tom?

Tom: Well, the bubbles will say there and they actually seam in the finish and it won’t look very good.

With the edge still wet, I want to grab my synthetic applicator and blend it right in with the floor because you don’t want to create a ridge. That will show through the finish also. Base coat takes about two hours to dry and then you’re ready to install the polyurethane finish. You should wait about two hours between each coat.

I’ve inspected thousands of shingle roofs

In my years as a roofing contractor, I’ve inspected, literally, thousands of shingle roofs on all types of buildings and in all manner of disrepair.

During those visits, I’ve noticed that most problems people are having related to their asphalt shingles are related to just a few common installation mistakes.

I’m going to show you what these mistakes are and how to avoid them.

For more information on the correct installation techniques, please refer to the appropriate section in my video on installing asphalt shingles on our site

Wrong nail pattern

The number one mistake people make when installing shingles is using the wrong nail pattern or not using enough nails. Most common among these mistakes is placing the nails too high on the shingle. When you do this, you miss the top edge of the shingle below and leave too few nails in that shingle.

For most asphalt shingle profiles, the nail needs to have at least eight nails holding it on. When you place your four nails in the face of the shingles too high, the shingle below is left with only four nails instead of eight. This can lead to big problems down the road, as this shingle is now vulnerable to pulling off those nails and just falling off the roof. Make sure to follow the exact manufacturer’s instructions on how many nails to use and on where to place them in the shingle.

Use on Flat Roofs

One of the other more common mistakes that I see with shingled roofs are using them on roofs that are too flat. Shingles are designed to be installed on roofs with a pitch greater than 2/12. That’s nine and a half degrees, and they really perform best on roofs with a 4/12 pitch or greater; that’s 18 and half degrees.

While you can get away with installing shingles down to a 2/12 pitch with special precautions, I’d strongly advise you to avoid any applications below a 4/12. The fact is, the slower the water is moving off your roof, the more likely you are to have problems. Especially important to take into consideration is the design of the lower slope roof. If the roof is cut up with many valleys and weird angles or there are a good many penetrations, like pipes, or, God forbid, a skylight, please steer clear of installing shingles on that section of roof. Trust me, you’re just asking for trouble.

Flashing Pipes Cause Leaks

Another common mistake that I see all the time involves flashing pipes. I bet that 50% of all the leaks that I have ever looked at have come from around a pipe flashing. Many times the flashing is just worn out and the rubber has split around the pipe, letting water in. Just as common, though, are leaks that come from nails that are placed too close to the corners of the flashing. Over time, these nails work themself loose and allow water to flow under the edge of the boot and leak into the hole created by the nail. You can avoid this by placing your nails further away from the edge of the boot and, better yet, use one of these gasketed screws, which also resist backing out.

Watch the section in the main video that covers pipe flashings to learn about my technique for doubling up your pipe boots to avoid problems caused by the rubber wearing out and splitting.

Incorrect Overhand of Shingles

Another common mistake that I see involves an incorrect overhang of the shingles. So many times I’ve gone out look at a roof, even a new installation, and seen the shingles hanging way too far off the edge of the roof. While they might have looked okay at the time that they were applied, shingles that are left to overhang the roof more than an inch and a half are prone to do some serious sagging. While this not only looks bad for years to come, these shingles that are left to flop over the edge of the roof are going to crack over time and open up those areas of the roof to leaks and rotting of the fascia and soffit.

While manufacturers and shingles differ somewhat, most shingles are designed to hang over the roof only half to three-quarters of an inch. For best success, use a piece of drip edge, like this, and follow your shingle manufacturer’s specific installation instructions.

Applying Architectural Shingles with a Racking Pattern

The last common mistake that I see all the time involves applying architectural shingles with the racking pattern. While applying shingles vertically like that is an acceptable technique for three tab shingles, you should never use this method for architectural style shingles. While the shingles go on fine and they look normal when they’re applied this way, years later they will develop serious cracks along the seam that lead to leaks and premature failure of the roof system.

In the section of the video on installing shingles, I give you a technique that will work well with both three tab and architectural shingles. I’d also note that all shingles come with specific installation instructions printed on every package. They’re there for a reason.

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